The First Duma

The First Duma met for the first time on
May 10th, 1906 in the Tauris Palace. The First Duma was dominated by the Kadets
who wanted Russia to have a parliament based very much on the British model with
legislative powers. Those who held the reins of power wanted it to be no more
than a discussion chamber – one in which the government could easily identify
its critics as speeches in the Duma were made in public.

The First Duma was meant to have been a
consultative body. Many interpreted the October Manifesto as being conciliatory
and as if to emphasise the conciliatory nature of the government an amnesty was
granted to all political figures except to those who had taken part in
revolutionary activities.

The Duma put forward to Nicholas
II a
programme of reform that they believed would benefit all of Russia. No one knew
if Nicholas would even receive the programme. In the event, the Duma was told
that most of its programme of reform was inadmissible to the government. This
immediately provoked a response from the Duma and the consultative/discussion
body suddenly turned on the government and verbally attacked every conceivable
government abuse they could identify. Most government ministers reacted to this
attack in a negative and uncompromising manner – all except Stloypin. He
looked on the attack favourably as it clearly identified to him who were the
main opponents to the government. He also identified those who criticised the
government but in a far more mellow manner – people, he believed, he could
work with at the expense of those who he felt were a danger to the government,
and to his mind, Russia.

The Duma’s vote of censure was passed
but it had no impact on the government. The Duma tried to rally public support
by calling for reforms (and symbolically passing them in the Duma), which they
knew the government would reject. However, they were playing a dangerous game as the
government could not allow the Duma to stir up public anger and on July 21st,
after just 42 days in office, the Duma was dissolved.

Equally as important, peasants were
declared the legal owners of their plots of land within the framework of their
commune. Redemption payments were effectively got rid of.

What was intended as a gesture was to
have deep social and political implications over the nest few years in Russia.
As part of the reforms brought in by Witte, peasants were allowed to leave their
village and, if they remained in their village, they were permitted to share
their land. However, by allowing peasants to leave their village, Witte was
effectively exporting discontent around Russia. Those peasants who went to the
cities for work, simply imported into that city their tales of woe and furthered
any discontent against the regime.

The First Duma witnessed a split in the
Liberals. The Octobrists were a group that wanted to accept the October
Manifesto and saw it as a way forward. The Kadets wanted a parliament based on
the British model – a discussion and legislative chamber, something that
Nicholas would not accept.

Witte may well have helped Russia out of
her difficulties if Nicholas had listened to him. However, Witte had many
enemies in court. Some saw him as weak, a man who offered reforms to the enemies
of the government. The Minister of the Interior, Durnovo, was appalled by what
he saw as Witte’s weakness. Above all else, Alexandra did not agree with what
Witte wanted.

The one hold Witte had over Nicholas was
his ability to raise capital abroad – especially from France.

The government had to work in an
atmosphere of distrust and industrial strife. In November 1905, a general strike
was called in St Petersburg. The response was poor and in December, Witte ordered
the arrest of the entire St Petersburg’s Soviet – 270 people.

This act of repression provoked an uprising in
Moscow, which took the government 10 days to quell. Witte was clearing
frightened at the growing unrest in Russia and he took it upon himself to offer
what many interpreted as his own October
Manifesto. This, to those who read it,
appeared to offer universal suffrage to all taxpayers. It also seemed to allow
all meetings of political parties. Witte had done this off of his own back –
and the royal court was never to forgive him.